Coffeehouses

December 8

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (December 8, 1772).

“He has now opened a New CAROLINA, GEORGIA, FLORIDA, and PENNSYLVANIA COFFEE-HOUSE.”

When he became proprietor of Cole’s and Greenland Coffee House in London, Robert Benson launched an advertising campaign in newspapers published in Charleston, South Carolina.  He hoped to entice merchants and others who visited London to socialize and do business at his establishment rather than choose any of the many others in Cornhill near the Royal Exchange.  He first placed advertisements in the South-Carolina Gazette and the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal in July and August 1772.  In December, he continued marketing the “New” and renamed “CAROLINA, GEORGIA, FLORIDA, and PENNSYLVANIA COFFEE-HOUSE.”

As he had previously done, Benson opened his advertisement by introducing himself as “BOB, late Waiter at the CAROLINA COFFEE-HOUSE.”  That established his experience and credentials.  Benson likely hoped that merchants and others who had visited that coffee house might remember “BOB” and the familiarity would convince them to seek out his services at his new location.  Even for those who had not previously interacted with “BOB,” the nickname may have suggested that they would encounter genuine friendliness when they were far from home and chose to visit his coffee house.

Benson provided amenities from home for the comfort and convenience of his patrons.  In particular, he “settled a regular Correspondence” for newspapers from the Carolinas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and other colonies.  Merchants and others could stay informed of events on the other side of the Atlantic and follow the shipping news as they conducted business in London.  Benson asserted that he kept his subscriptions current and received the latest editions “on the Arrival of every Ship” from the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and Pennsylvania.  Other services included “Particular Attention … to all Bills, Letters, &c. left at the said Coffee-House.”

Benson did not rely solely on foot traffic near the Royal Exchange and word of mouth to generate business when he became the proprietor of a coffee house in Ball Court.  Instead, he placed advertisements in newspapers on the other side of the Atlantic, hoping that doing so would draw attention to his establishment and distinguish from others in the neighborhood.  Such efforts demonstrated to colonial merchants and other prospective patrons that Benson took seriously his commitment to serving them when they ventured to London.  In contrast, proprietors of other coffee houses did not advertise in American newspapers.  Benson likely hoped that difference would distinguish the Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Pennsylvania Coffee House from others.

August 20

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Supplement to the South-Carolina Gazette (August 20, 1772).

“He makes American Punch in Perfection.”

When Robert Benson became the new proprietor of “COLE’S and the GREENLAND COFFEE-HOUSE, in Ball Court, Cornhill,” in London, he placed advertisements in newspapers in South Carolina.  Having formerly worked as a waiter at the Carolina Coffee House, he likely hoped that some merchants who had conducted business there would remember him fondly enough to visit his new establishment when they next traveled to London as well as entrust him to receive “Bills, Letters, and Messages” directed to local associates.  He opened his first advertisement with a headline introducing himself as “BOB, WAITER from the CAROLINA,” but concluded it more formally as his prospective customers’ “obedient humble Servant, ROBERT BENSON.”  In a subsequent advertisement, he dispensed with giving his full name, opting instead to solely use the more familiar “BOB, WAITER from the CAROLINA and PENNSYLVANIA COFFEE-HOUSE, in Birchin Lane.”

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (August 18, 1772).

Benson made other changes when he published a second advertisement in newspapers in Charleston.  In particular, he declared that “for the Accommodation of American Gentlemen, the South-Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania News-Papers, will be regularly taken in.”  Those newspapers featured a significant amount of news from Europe, especially London, that would have been more quickly and more readily available to visitors to the city, but they also carried digests of news from throughout the colonies, varying amounts of local news, prices current for a variety of commodities in Charleston, Savannah, and Philadelphia, and shipping news from the customs houses in those busy ports.  In addition, readers could glean a fair amount of news (and gossip) from reading the advertisements, including legal notices and advertisements intended to promote commerce and consumption (and notices cutting off credit for disobedient wives who “ran away” from their husbands).  Benson considered supplying American newspapers one of the services for his customers that demonstrated he “will exert his utmost Endeavours to merit their Favours.”  He also declared that he “has fitted up” his establishment “very elegantly.”  In addition to the newspapers, American merchants and other travelers would feel at home at Cole’s and the Greenland Coffee House because Benson “makes American Punch in Perfection.”  Even as colonial merchants took part in London’s cosmopolitan culture, Benson suspected they would welcome a taste of home.  He listed the “American Punch” last in his advertisement, one of several amenities that he hoped would make his coffeehouse an attractive destination.  His competitors relied on reputation and word of mouth to attract customers from Charleston and other towns in the colonies.  Benson, the affable “BOB,” on the other hand, believed that directly marketing his new venture in the colonies would contribute to its success.  He attempted to leverage his reputation while also promoting the amenities that made his coffeehouse a rival to any others in London.

July 26

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago this week?

Supplement to the South-Carolina Gazette (July 23, 1772).

“Genteel Accommodations, civil Usage, and good Attendance may be depended on.”

When Robert Benson took over operations of “COLE’S and the GREENLAND COFFEE-HOUSE, in Ball Court, Cornhill,” in London in 1772, he placed advertisements in newspapers published in Charleston, South Carolina.  Why did Benson advertise his new enterprise to colonizers on the other side of the Atlantic?  Nic Butler explains that “[t]housands of prospective emigrants first learned about the Carolina Colony and booked passage to that distant land at a small coffee shop in the heart of London.  From the 1670s to the 1830s, the Carolina Coffee House in Birchin Lane served as the epicenter for conversations about the colony, its business opportunities, and its residents.”

Benson introduced himself to readers in South Carolina as “BOB, WAITER from the CAROLINA.”  For some, this might have been a reacquaintance.  Merchants who visited London may have met Benson on their travels.  Similarly, the affable Bob may have interacted with colonizers who passed through the Carolina Coffee House when they migrated to South Carolina.  Several other coffeehouses in Cornhill also served as meeting places for exchanging information about faraway places, including the Virginia Coffee House, the Jamaica Coffee House, the Jerusalem Coffee House, and the African Coffee House.

Benson encouraged colonizers in South Carolina to consider Cole’s and the Greenland Coffee House as alternatives to others in Cornhill.  Building on his experience at the Carolina Coffee House, he assured readers that “Particular Attention will be given to all Bills, Letters, and Messages” left at the establishments he operated.  In addition, for any “GENTLEMEN” planning to visit London, Benson promised “Genteel Accommodations, civil Usage, and good Attendance.”  Those accommodations included suppers every evening as well as a variety of wines and liquors to purchase “Wholesale and Retail.”

Entrepreneurs in England rarely placed advertisements in colonial American newspapers.  In this instance, Benson apparently believed that he could cultivate a clientele among residents of South Carolina who had occasion to travel to London.  Even for those who remained in the colonies, Benson aimed to have Cole’s and the Greenland Coffee House become destinations for correspondence, hoping this would prompt friends and associates of colonizers in South Carolina to spend time (and money) at his coffeehouse.

Learn more about “The Carolina Coffee House of London” and other coffeehouses by reading or listening to Nic Butler on the Charleston County Public Library’s Charleston Time Machine.

March 22

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update, Guest Contribution , , , , ,

GUEST CURATOR: Ceara Morse

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago this week?

Mar 22 - 3:20:1767 New-Hampshire Gazette
New-Hampshire Gazette (March 20, 1767).

“Choice Green Coffee.”

When it comes to choices of drink when thinking of the colonial and Revolutionary eras, the first one that probably comes to mind is tea. This advertisement is interesting because it sold coffee instead. According to Christina Regelski, coffee was sometimes used as a way of showing wealth or status in the colonial era due to the expensiveness of producing the coffee grounds from the beans. In the southern colonies slaves were often in charge of grinding the coffee beans in the kitchens for their wealthy owners. Sadly, they had no access to the coffee they prepared.

Coffeehouses became hubs of information that could be accessed by many in the eighteenth century. Similar to taverns, men from any status and station could go to coffeehouses to drink coffee and discuss what was going on in their lives and their colony. John Adams even noted the importance of coffeehouses in a letter to James Warren in 1775: “the Debates, and Deliberations in Congress are impenetrable Secrets: but the Conversations in the City, and the Chatt of the Coffee house, are free, and open.”

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ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY: Carl Robert Keyes

Some colonists very well may have encountered Noah Parker’s advertisement for “Choice Green Coffee” when they visited a coffeehouse, such as the Crown Coffeehouse on Queen Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In the same issue that Parker hawked coffee, Isaac Williams placed an advertisement announcing that he had just opened the “CROWN Coffee-House” and provided many amenities for customers (including “the best of LIQUORS” and “large and small Entertainment, provided in the most genteel manner” in addition to coffee). At many eighteenth-century coffeehouses, the amenities included newspapers.

As Ceara notes, coffeehouses were hubs for exchanging information in the eighteenth century. Patrons certainly traded stories, but they also had access to newspapers the proprietors provided for their convenience and entertainment. Customers read newspapers to learn about politics and current events that affected their daily lives and commercial transactions. As a result, the advertisements that appeared in the New-Hampshire Gazette and other colonial newspapers had a far wider reach than just local subscribers. Visitors to the Crown Coffeehouse most likely had access to recent issues of many newspapers other than just the New-Hampshire Gazette, especially newspapers from Boston and other parts of New England, but also from elsewhere in the colonies, the Caribbean, and London. Similarly, coffeehouses in other colonial port cities also provided newspapers from near and far for patrons to consult.

In addition to sharing news and gossip, coffeehouses were also places to conduct business. Merchants gathered to settle accounts in comfortable surroundings. Vendue sales or auctions also took place in coffeehouses. Noah Parker may have visited the Crown Coffeehouse to meet with associates interested in purchasing the various commodities he listed in his advertisement. Despite the atmosphere of gentility that Williams and other proprietors cultivated, coffeehouses were also sometimes the venue for buying and selling slaves. Although not as rowdy as taverns, coffeehouses were busy places for exchanging information and conducting business in the era of the Revolution.